Your first question should be whether or not you're looking for 'just' a widescreen TV, or whether you want the whole Home Cinema experience.

If you're in the former camp, then you'll find a perfectly reasonable image on TVs whose screens measure between 30'' and 39'' from corner to corner, the standard method for measuring TV size.

As long as you don't sit too close to the screen, you'll not be able to notice difference in quality between these and bigger screens.

Home Cinema

But if you're really looking to bring the movies into your home, something above 40'' is what you'll need.

If you've got enough space to sit far enough back (at least three meters), then you can even go for something that measures in excess of 50''--and this time a Full HD experience is in order with a standard resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.

Digital TV

In more and more parts of the world, digital TV is now broadcase in High Definition, but if your TV's tuner can't decode these signals, all those extra pixels are wasted--you might as well have a much smaller screen where the Standard Definition signal will appear more reasonable.

All of the TVs in this Christmas 2008 selection include HD compatible digital tuners.

TVs under 40''

	Budget Buyer: Sony Bravia KDL-32V4500 This is one of the best entry-level TVs we've ever seen, which can reasonably get away with HD Ready definition thanks to its small sizes. Also available as a 26'' version, it's the only TV of this size we've ever rated so highly.

	Simplicity First: Sony Bravia KDL-32W4000 With its default configuration, the W4000 is as bad as any other TV ... but with one press of the Cinema button, a whole series of filters and presets is activated that revolutioniwe display quality.	Prices unavailable Recommended alternatives Editor's Choice Sony Bravia KDL-32CX520 Ideal For 3D LG 32LW450U Good All-Rounder Samsung UE32D6500

	Demanding User: Samsung LE32A568 Full HD, and with excellent contrast, this is an excellent TV whose only potential fault is the inclusion of a glossy screen, which not everybody is a fan of.

	All Rounder: Sony Bravia KDL-32W4000 Not only is the W4000 easy-to-use, it also doubles up as a great computer monitor.  We tried it in all sorts of different conditions and were amazed by the results.  You'll just need to find a desk big enough to fit it on ...	Prices unavailable Recommended alternatives Editor's Choice Sony Bravia KDL-32CX520 Ideal For 3D LG 32LW450U Good All-Rounder Samsung UE32D6500

Expert:
Well, experts in this field will probably prefer something from the next category up ...

TVs over 40''

	Budget Buyer: Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ81E Panasonic's use of plasma screens gives access to big 42'' and 46'' screens for low prices withough compromising on quality.  Great at upscaling Standard Definition images onto the big screen, too.	Prices unavailable Recommended alternatives Editor's Choice Philips 46PFL8606H The Best 3D Plasma Panasonic Viera TX-P42VT30 Affordable 3D TV LG 47LW450U

	Demanding User: Sony Bravia KDL-40W4500 Just a shade pricer than the earlier W4000, the W4500 offers excellent image quality thanks to the addition of Motionflow 100 Hz which works a treat making this an excellent value TV.	Prices unavailable Recommended alternatives Editor's Choice Philips 46PFL8606H The Best 3D Plasma Panasonic Viera TX-P42VT30 Affordable 3D TV LG 47LW450U

	All Rounder: Samsung LE46A856 The LE856 has an amazing image quality and several brand new features that herald the future of TVs such as a built-in decoder for MPEG and DivX video files from your computer.

	Expert: Sony Bravia KDL-46Z4500 The Z4500 adds even more features to the excellent W4500: it has MotionFlow at 200 Hz, a sub-woofer is included and the remote control has been improved. If it was easy to endorse Sony's earlier model as an excellent choice, it's even easier to welcome this one!